Don’t Miss Out

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Connect with us

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Sign up now for the latest news, top picks for your kids, and helpful tips.

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Not applicable

Positive role models

The man in the yellow hat takes childlike George under his wing, but with the goal of throwing him into a zoo where his antics will essentially be controlled. Despite the man's good intentions, his poor supervision leads to George getting arrested, escaping from jail, smoking a pipe, causing traffic jams, etc. George emulates a child's curiosity but on a much larger, more exaggerated scale.

Violence & scariness

George is captured and taken away from his home, falls overboard and needs to be rescued, and spends some time in prison until he finds an opportunity to escape. Before being thrown into prison, the firefighters who responded to George's false alarm tell the monkey, "We will have to shut you up where you can't do any more harm."

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that George's antics will have kids laughing. The writing is simple and direct, and the art is charming in this adventure tale. Some kids may be a little troubled by George's sad expression when he's whisked away from home -- as well as when he lands in jail for accidentally calling the fire department. Reassure them that they won't get locked up for minor infractions.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

What happens when you take a curious monkey out of the jungle and set him loose in the big city? When the monkey is Curious George, the answer is chaos ... and a whole lot of fun! It's one adventure after another until he is arrives happily at the zoo.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

George's insatiable curiosity -- and children's understanding of what could go wrong -- make this book such a fun read. "My baby brother does that!" one 6-year-old exclaimed at the pictures of George dialing the phone. "He doesn't know any better," a 5-year-old boy said -- and he explained, to his mother's relief, "After all, he's a monkey!"

Author/illustrator H. A. Rey takes care to fill every other page with a colorful cartoonlike drawing. One outstanding picture shows an aerial view of George holding balloons and floating over the city. However, sometimes a series of thumbnail pictures appears on one page and confuses young children. "Are there three monkeys?" one 4-year-old asked.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about how George keeps getting into trouble. Parents may want to talk about consequences. For example, why is George in such serious trouble after the fire-station incident? What would happen if you accidentally summoned a fire truck in real life?

About our buy links

When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

Too mature for my toddler.

This is the very original origin story of Curious George and the man in the yellow hat meeting originally published in 1941 which is very different than the origin story portrayed in the 2006 movie Curious George. Children born in the 21rst century and their parents who are familiar with the Curious George and man in the yellow hat from the 2006, 2009, 2010, movies; the PBS math/science television series, and the Curious George stories created in the last 30 years will find this early 20th century story disturbing in some parts. The man in the yellow hat traps and kidnaps George against his will in Africa for a zoo in America. There is a perilous incident where George almost drowns in the ocean on the voyage to America. There is tobacco pipe smoking by both George and the man in the yellow hat in different parts of the story. George goes to prison for accidentally calling the fire department when playing around with the phone. George is never wanted or adopted by the man in the yellow hat, but put in the zoo after he is recaptured from his escape from prison.

Book recommendations for every age — right to your inbox

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Our Policies

Download our free app

Common Sense is the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to empowering kids to thrive in a world of media and technology. Families, educators, and policymakers turn to
Common Sense for unbiased information and trusted advice to help them learn how to harness the positive power of media and technology for all kids.

The Common Sense and Common Sense Media names, associated trademarks, and logos, including the Decider Slider and Age Ratings Bugs,
are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).